Shaping Up

I saw today that Kenny Singleton will retire from the broadcast booth after this season. He’s had a good run with the Yanks, a welcome, even-handed and amiable presence. We’re certain to appreciate spending one last summer with him.

I haven’t been following spring training too closely—only the quotidian peek to make sure nobody has been terribly injured—but did see the Yanks signed Neil Walker on the cheap. That feels like a nice bit of insurance to have at second base. Left-handed pop, Yankee Stadium, Mmm, mmm, good. Plus, a little more seasoning in the minors could be just what uber-prospect Gleyber Torres needs. Over at The Athletic (subscription required), Marc Carig reports:

“It’s way too early to critique the bat because he’ll get it going when he’s playing every day with a little less pressure,” said one talent evaluator, who said Torres’ spring performance did little to change his belief that Torres could be a special player.

Torres is ranked as the Yankees’ top prospect and No. 5 in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline. He will almost certainly be summoned at some point during the season….

“Any experience he can get to prepare him for his future role is a huge plus,” the evaluator said. “He played defense very well and just needs the ABs.”

4 comments

Gleyber sent to minor league camp today, per RAB. Makes sense to shake off the rust and get back in baseball shape from TJ. Plus it manipulates his service time.

That and the slow FA market (driven in part by the Yankees and Dodgers hewing to the luxury tax cap) tells me there could be a work stoppage when the current CBA expires. I don’t know what the actual percentage is right now, but I read somewhere recently that players are only getting 38% of the profits, down from 50%.

[1] It's all a factor of analytics. Management has realized that they do better (and cheaper) with younger players who are under control, and no longer carrying big buck guys past their prime. The Union will probably look to lower the # of years of control (maybe 4 years) on the theory of pay me now or pay me later.